How every supermarket plans to reduce plastic and pointless packaging

Iceland’s managing director, Richard Walker, with some non-plastic packaging, after they become the first major retailer to commit to eliminate plastic packaging for all own brand products within five years to help end the “scourge” of plastic pollution (PA)

The Prime Minister pledged to eliminate all avoidable plastic within 25 years and called for supermarkets to be introduce “plastic-free” aisles where fruit and vegetables are sold loose.

All supermarkets value the importance of packaging in preserving the quality of the products they sell, but some shops have already been working behind the scenes to reduce their environmental footprint. Iceland announced it would go plastic free for all of its own brand packaging by the end of 2023.

This is how supermarkets plan to reduce plastic and other pointless packaging in the next few years:

Iceland

To go plastic-free in the next five years, Iceland will use paper and pulp trays instead. These materials can be recycled through waste collection services or using the in-store recycling facilities.

A high proportion of the paper and board used by Iceland contains recycled material. The store supports the use of virgin paper – from pulped wood rather than re-used paper products – if it comes from sustainably managed forests which promote the growth of new trees.

Tesco

Tesco wants to make all of its packaging fully recyclable or compostable by 2025, with all the paper and cardboard used being 100% sustainable within the same time frame.

By 2025, Tesco also hopes to reduce packaging weight by half from the levels used in 2007.

So far Tesco has removed polystyrene from fish packaging and replaced it with more environmentally friendly plastic. For meat trays, plastic has been slashed from two layers to one.

Used plastic bottles remain heaped up at a plastics recycling mill in Wuhan, China (Photo: Getty)

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s wants to reduce its own-brand packaging by half by 2020 compared with the levels in 2005.

Marks & Spencer

The voluntary initiative that aims to cut the resource needed to provide food and drink by one-fifth over ten years.

Between 2007 and 2012, M&S reduced its packaging by 25%. M&S supports WRAP’s Courtauld Commitment and between 2012 and 2014, food packaging usage reduced by a further 10% per item.

The company is looking at ways to improve the recycling of black trays that ready meals come in. While they are recyclable, their colour means sorting equipment cannot detect them, so the trays end up on landfill anyway. M&S launched a trial version of the tray using a different black colourant, which was sold in stores for a month.

M&S is also exploring using plant-based materials for plastics, which have a lower environmental footprint and are recyclable.

Co-op

By 2020, Co-op wants 80% of it products to have packaging that is easy to recycle. So far it has reduced the packaging for its protein products.

Asda

Asda wants all of its packaging to be recyclable by 2025.

Since 2007 Asda has reduced packaging weight by nearly 30%. In 2013, the supermarket changed the packaging for the ‘Chosen By You’ and the ‘Butcher’s Selection’ ranges to have a ‘skin’ packaging, which reduced the amount needed and doubled the meat’s shelf life.

Supermarkets are trying to reduce their plastic waste (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Aldi

Aldi UK has signed up to WRAP’s Courtauld 2025.

A similar scheme Aldi previously signed up to saw packaging reduce by 11% from 2012 to 2015.

By 2020, Aldi’s pulp-based packaging material will be made of recycled material or sourced from sustainably-managed forests.

Morrisons

Morrisons is also part of Courtauld 2025.

Since 2009, the weight of packaging on Market Street – the supermarket’s fresh food section – has fallen by 36%. Own brand packaging has gone down by 2.08% since 2012.

Morrisons has also trialled a special cap for its own brand of Soave wine, which contains 64% less aluminium. It can be completely removed so the bottle can be recycled.

Lidl

Customers have been urging Lidl to reduce its packaging in the past, although the store does sell a lot of loose fruit and vegetables. Lidl says it is in the process of setting targets, according to the BBC.

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